About

Maria Nigro is the founder and owner of Black Oak Estate and Appraisal Services, LLC. Before establishing Black Oak Maria spent 10 years working in art organizations and museums, including The Cloisters, Reynolda House Museum of American Art (Winston-Salem, NC), the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Hudson River Museum. She holds a BA in Medieval Studies from Fordham University and a MA in Art History from CUNY's Hunter College. Maria earned her Certificate in Appraisal Studies from the Appraisers Association of America, of which she is an Associate Member.

The business name merges Maria’s maiden and married names: Dembrowsky Nigro. Dembrowsky stems from dąbrowa, which is Polish for oak grove, and Nigro means black in Italian. Dąbrowa Nigro = Black Oak. The Dembrowsky/dąbrowa/oak reference alludes to Maria's childhood and the antique shop owned by her parents. Combining the two names acknowledges the past while looking to the future, much like our clients do.